Wawa stages three-store opening in Lee County

FORT MYERS — Wawa, the Pennsylvania-based chain of convenience stores with a cult-like following, is opening three stores in Lee County today.

Two of the stores are opening in Fort Myers — one on Cleveland Avenue and the other on Colonial Boulevard — and the third store is opening on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral. The company has scheduled a party at each new store, complete with a hoagie-making contest between police and firefighters.

The stores are part of the company's rapid expansion plans in Florida from its base in the Mid-Atlantic. The company, which already has opened stores in the Tampa Bay region, plans to open 300 stores in Florida and 80 on the Gulf Coast.